AIRCRAFT

The Bio Electric Hybrid Aircraft – ‘BEHA’

The design brief was simple – Design an aircraft that could carry a heavy payload, take off and land in a very short space and generate a lot of lift.

Except this was the brief established for a Military specification UAV (Unmanned Air Vehicle) 30 years ago. The aircraft was created and it was light years ahead of its nearest rival in terms of capability and design innovation.

Lessons learned from that military UAV programme, laid the basis for the aircraft you see today. With extensive past experience working with joined wing technology, the BEHA is specifically designed as a Hybrid Electric aircraft, able to operate from all surfaces, with extremely Short Take-Off and Landing (STOL) capability.

Design

Initial Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) testing of the wing design and configuration was completed and approved at the world renowned aerospace engineering University at Cranfield in the UK.

The design development then migrated to Swansea University, with aero optimisation of the aircraft being led by Dr Ben Evans. The early holding designs allowed the team to work on the intended final specification airframe, showcased at Revolution.Aero in London in March 2019 after five years of development.

Considerable engineering development has been completed on the joined wing technology, including scale models and military sized UAV’s with autonomous flight systems and multi-mission capability. A BEHA scale model from 2017 shown below.

The aircraft will utilise its patented ‘Triple Box-wing’ configuration to take off and land in less than 300 meters with the ability to be quick changed from passenger to cargo configuration in less than 15 minutes. This capability could allow the BEHA M1H to operate from aircraft carriers or small dirt roads without the need for expensive launch and capture systems. This capability opens up considerable logistical and humanitarian aid opportunities, in additional to daily pax/cargo operations in remote regions.

The BEHA M1H will be powered initially by a 1600hp, hybridised turboprop propulsion system via contra-rotating propfans contained within an acoustic reduction duct that improves thrust efficiency to around 220kts. The BEHA is targeted to cruise at around 200kts (230mph/370kph) with reduced noise and fuel burn from the advanced propulsion system.

The BEHA M1H is being widely praised as a futuristic and exciting looking aircraft that could revolutionise Regional Air Mobility. In terms of size, it sits within a similar footprint to the former BAe Systems Jetstream31 regional airliner with the BEHA M1H able to operate over a much wider variety of roles, especially within the utilitarian market.

Whilst the opportunity for all Electric flight in the future is a hugely exciting development opportunity for the aerospace sector, the regulatory requirements for ‘passenger operations’ are extensive and yet to be fully understood or even written. It was therefore decided that a ‘hybrid’ propulsion system was the sensible short-term solution, offering the ability to deliver ‘Fossil Fuel Free’ flight capability via the latest aviation biofuels.

Faradair® has every intention to build and demonstrate an ‘All-electric’ variant of the BEHA aircraft, however it is believed that certification of such aircraft for passenger operations is unlikely before 2030. The immediate focus is therefore in the development and delivery of a full size flying demonstrator of the BEHA M1H by 2022 and certification for passenger operations of this hybrid aircraft by 2025.

The BEHA will come in three specifications with initial prototype development and focus on the M1H variant;

BEHA – M1AT : An unmanned variant of the M1H, capable of autonomous flight and heavy payload delivery as an aerial ‘Airtanker’ for firefighting, refueling or cargo logistics. This variant is perfectly suited to non-civilian roles and package freight distribution.